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Irish poetry
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NUALA NI DHOMHNAILL (b.
1952)
06/05/2011
NUALA NI DHOMHNAILL
writes only in Irish dual-language collections of poetry
‘...writing Irish poetry in English suddenly seemed a very stupid thing to be doing. I switched language in mid-poem and wrote the very same
poem in Irish, and I could see immediately that it was much
better.’
NUALA NI DHOMHNAILL
writing in Irish as both a literary and political statement
a natural language in which to write a way to recover the female voice in
Irish poetry that the English male tradition gradually eclipsed.
“ I feel that what I represent is the aboriginal Irish somehow.”
NUALA NI DHOMHNAILL
“Irish in the Irish context is the language of the Mothers, because everything that has been done to women has been done to Irish. It has been marginalized, its status has been taken from it...”
NUALA NI DHOMHNAILL
Irish - spoken by a small minority of native speakers principally found in rural pockets on the western seaboard
the Gaeltacht - Irish-speaking communities
the number of Irish speakers: 60,000, or about 2 percent of the population of the Republic of Ireland
NUALA NI DHOMHNAILL
biblical stories set beside the tales of Irish folklore
“The Language Issue” the unforeseen voyage this poem
might take touching on the politics of the
Irish/English language
NUALA NI DHOMHNAILL
poetic speakers from Irish mythology , Celtic legends and fairy tales
fascinated with the “otherworld” images of strong women, (warrior)
goddesses and queens restores the goddesses to the
independent and active roles they once had
NUALA NI DHOMHNAILL
In Gaelic society before the 16th and 17th ct colonization of Ireland, women enjoyed a higher status and greater independence than they have since
literary evidence suggests that women shared equal status with men
NUALA NI DHOMHNAILL
her female speakers wield authority equal to or greater than that of their male counterparts
they express responses to the external world
assertive and very self-cofident women
“Medb Speaks”
War I will declare from nowOn all men of Ireland
On all the corner boys Lying curled in children’s cradles
Their willies worthlessWnting no womanAll macho boasting
Last night they beddedA Grecian princess -
(“Medb Speaks”)
NUALA NI DHOMHNAILL
a relationship btw. mythological figures and contemporary women
women readily confront men and sometimes become the aggressors
linking gender and political oppression
NUALA NI DHOMHNAILL
parallels between the images of Christian saints and goddesses from Irish mythology
challenging the notions of Christian asceticism and images of woman promoted by the Catholic Church
“Annunciations”
“Remember O most tender virgin Mary That never was it known That a man came to you In the darkness alone…”
NUALA NI DHOMHNAILL
challenging the denial of the flesh (Boland’s “Flesh is heretic”)
challenging patriarchal oppression of Christianity
women condemned for their sensuality
“The Visitor”
You are welcome here, my Lord, make yourself comfortable, at home
… You take no notice of me ...
Here I stand naked in front of you, I am not worthy ...
Domine non sum dignus ...
“Monk”
I am temptation.You know me.
Sometimes I’m Eve,Sometimes the snake:
I slide into your reverieIn the middle of brightest day.
I shine ike the sun in an orchard.
“Monk”
But it’s not to torment youEvery day I rise –But to drown youIn love’s delights.
...That’s the only reason I haunt you:my monk, my apostle, my priest.
NUALA NI DHOMHNAILL
the inversion of the usual casting of woman as muse and as national territory
an altered perspective a woman writer “returning the
compliment” to males writers “Your nude body is an island /
asprawl on the ocean bed. How / beautiful your limbs ...”
(“Island”)
NUALA NI DHOMHNAILL
the body in Irish remains extremely open and un-coy
almost impossible to be "rude" or "vulgar" in Irish
the body becomes a source of laughter rather than anything to be ashamed of
NUALA NI DHOMHNAILL
exploring the female psyche encouraging an interrogation of
established mythic representations